Examining Lync's Connection Tools: MOSDAL

Welcome to the second in our post series on Lync connection tools. This week we’re talking about MOSDAL. Like TRIPP, it helps administrators figure out what’s gone wrong with Lync Online. And Exchange Online. And Office Web Apps. And a bunch of other Microsoft online services.

What MOSDAL Does

Microsoft’s description of MOSDAL:
“(MOSDAL) performs network diagnostics and collects system configuration, network configuration, and logging information for applications that are used to connect to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS-S) or to Microsoft Office 365. The logs and diagnostic information that the tool generates provide data that helps technical support professionals troubleshoot configuration, network, installation, and other service-related issues.”

Though they deal with the same arena – Office 365 services like Lync Online – MOSDAL has a much broader focus than TRIPP.

Essentially, it runs a series of tests on the service you request, hands you the test results and says, “The problem’s in here someplace. Good luck.”

What Kind of Information MOSDAL Gives You

Once you’ve selected a service to test, entered your login & password (not required every time) and hit Run, MOSDAL will take a few moments to conduct its tests.

When done, you’ll receive reports in the form of text files grouped in folders. I ran a test on my Active Directory connection as an example. (I don’t use Office 365 on this machine, but I do have a live Active Directory connection!)

The folders are:

Admin_Applications

Network_Tests

System_Information

User_Applications

Each has subfolders and sub-subfolders, to identify specifically what the text file they (eventually) contain talks about.

The end result is a large group of text files with huge amounts of system & network data in them. Being plain text, it’s easy to search through them for whatever issue you’re having with your Lync Online or DNS setup.

However, the sheer number of files & folders is frustrating. There’s no overview report, no callout of a big issue…nothing like that. MOSDAL creates an information dump. Which may not be what you want when you’re scrambling to find & fix a single issue.

For instance, here’s the sum total of the “O365_Sign_In_Assistant” log file:

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About the Skype for Business Insider Blog

The Skype4B Insider is a blog about the technology we use to communicate in business today. Here we talk about Microsoft's Skype for Business Server 2015, Lync Server 2013, Unified Communications, Voice over IP and related technologies like Exchange Server. Written by Chris W., MCSE in Communication and PlanetMagpie IT Consulting's Digital Marketing & Communications Manager.